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Hey, Trojans Athletes! Want to learn how to earn a sports scholarship? An average athletic scholarship costs about $10,400 dollars, which covers a portion of the costs for all the expensive things one must pay for when entering college.

If skilled, a full-ride scholarship can be offered by a D I-III University. But what is that? A full-ride scholarship is much different than the average athletic scholarships. It covers: tuition, fees, room, board, and course-related books. But according to CBS News only about 2% of high school athletes get the full ride scholarships every year at NCAA colleges and universities. Keep that in mind, it is scarcely offered.

When looking at colleges, many students worry about loan debts and how big of a financial hole they will have after graduating. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is an organization that helps determine a student’s eligibility for financial aid. If you’re offered a scholarship that does not cover all costs. You can still receive financial aid, but less money may be offered.

In February of 2017, PVHS senior, Sydney Dennis accepted her full-ride scholarship to play soccer for Northern Arizona University, Division I school. But what was the process?

“It was a lot of contacting coaches and getting them to watch me play,” Dennis says. She had other scouts watching too, and other offers before finally deciding on NAU.

But every scholarship has requirements that must be followed. Dennis said in order to keep her scholarship, she must “continue playing soccer” and she also needs to “keep a minimum of a 3.0 GPA;”.

Other requirements colleges might ask for can include your age. According to the website Sports-Scholarships applicants playing sports at a college and university level need to be between 17 and 24 years old. They may also not be further than their sixth college semester.

Student Athletes can either go to Division I, II, or III schools. Each division has different requirements and schools across the U.S.

If looking for to play for Division I, it offers a good amount of scholarships, more than any of the other divisions. As for the students, it typically has a large student body, and manages one of the largest athletic budgets. The average scholarship for a male is $14,270 and for a female $15,162.

Division II is a collection of 300 NCAA schools. Their main focus is to exceed in academics and athletics. They offer thousands of athletes the opportunity to get scholarships to play for these schools. Their average scholarships for men is $5,548 and women $6,814.

As for Division III, they are typically private schools, who give student athletes money differently. They do not offer scholarships but offer grants and financial aid. This division must report to the NCAA how much money they offer to their variety of students.

When looking and applying for scholarships make sure the research is done. See what each school offers, what division they fall into, and what financial aid one may receive.